West Bengal governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, to be the Vice President of India. The election for the post is going to be held on August 6.
Source- ehrer.com
West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday has been confirmed as the candidate for the post of BJP-led NDA government Vice-President.
BJP chief JP Nadda made this announcement referring to him as “Kisan Putra(son of a farmer) who established himself as people’s governor”.
Vice-Presidential Elections
The term of present Vice President Venkiah Naidu ends on August 10. Hence, the new Vice President has to be chosen beforehand so that the seat does not vacate.
The last date to file a nomination for the post is July 19 and thereafter elections are scheduled to be on August 6.
Dhankhar had met Modi earlier in the day. BJP President JP Nadda after the parliamentary board meeting at party headquarters in New Delhi declared Dhankhar as the BJP candidate for the vice-presidential post.
BJP Parliamentary Board for choosing Vice President consisted of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh as well as Nitin Gadkari and also party’s president JP Nadda. Others like BJP National General Secretary BL Santosh & Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present at the meeting.
Prime Minister Modi on Dhankhar
In a post on Twitter, PM Modi wrote “Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has excellent knowledge of our Constitution. He is also well-versed in legislative affairs. I am sure that he will be an outstanding Chair in the Rajya Sabha & guide the proceedings of the House with the aim of furthering national progress.”.
“Kisan Putra Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji is known for his humility. He brings with him an illustrious legal, legislative and gubernatorial career. He has always worked for the well-being of farmers, youth, women, and the marginalised. Glad that he will be our VP candidate.@jdhankhar1” tweeted Prime Minister Modi on Saturday after the board meeting.
SOURCE- Twitter handle of @narendramodi
Strife with the ruling party leader
West Bengal Governor Dhankhar and the ruling party leader of the state have been in strife. Earlier, Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee blamed the government multiple times for “misusing power” in the states that are ruled by the oppositional parties to the BJP.
TMC leader, Banerjee calls him “An agent of the BJP” since Dhankhar took power as the “Governor of West Bengal” in July 2019. On the other hand, BJP baptizes him as an “upholder of constitutional norms”.
Blame games in Play mode
From post-poll violence to even delays in the passing of the bill; Dhankhar and the ruling party have accused each other of being liable for it. Also includes, taking control over state-run universities and civilian bureaucracy issues.
Clear Majority
Earlier in 2017, Cabinet Minister Venkiah Naidu had won the Vice-Presidential elections comfortably. With this, he held the second highest constitutional post in the country after only the President.
The electoral post, which is also the Rajya Sabha Chairperson by default, comes into power after being elected by members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
Presently, 780 is the strength of Parliament. Out of this, only BJP has 394 MPs which is already above the majority of 390.
Eligibility for being Vice President of India
First and foremost for being the Vice-President of India, the person must be an Indian citizen and must be 35 years old or above. They should not be Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha members. If only he is a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha he must vacate his seat on the first day in office. Also, the person must not hold any office of profit under Union/state government or Public/ local authority.
Following people are also qualified for it- Sitting President or Sitting Vice-President or Governor of a state or can also be MPs/MLAs.
Vice- President holds the position for a five years term from the date he enters his office.
VP Elections
The last day to file nominations for Vice-Presidential elections is July 19 with elections on August 6. It will be held before the present Vice President M Venkiah Naidu resigns on August 10, 2022. The new Vice President will be the 16th Vice president of India.
